I just recently found out you can drop a V8 in a Miata, now I'm dead-set on getting my hands on one.

I have no mechanical expertise whatsoever, but I love cars and the more unique the better. I'd be on the for sale forum right now looking to buy one, but Unfortunately, I'll be stationed in Japan for three years so it'll have to wait.

In the meantime I hope to learn as much as I can from you guys so I can find a way to get an affordable V8 Miata thats also reliable and I can enjoy for many years to come.

In the meantime, I'll be playing with a JDM R33, I hope to sell when I get back in 2020 to fund my Miata Dream.

Welcome, it's good you're starting research now. Read over the Flyin' Miata V8 instructions to get an idea of the work that's involved (assuming you want an LSx, otherwise buy the Monster Miata manual if you want a Ferd). Then look over the various build threads here. I took about a year or two of research before actually starting the swap, and it was nice to have a really good idea of the step by step process when I got started.

Another biggie is to find a clean rust free Miata in your preferred year range. The older Miata's have been around for darn near 30 years and can have a lot of secondary damage that can add to the stress (and cost) of doing a conversion.
There will be a lot of generation (NA, NB, NC) specifics to doing a swap so make sure and decide early on which generation you will utilize. I specifically looked for a 1999 or 2000 super clean Miata because I found out thru research that they are an NB (which I prefer for asthetic reasons) but have a less desirable engine but have simpler electronics and wiring. For me, all those factors put them into the sweet spot for a V8 swap.